Seatoday.com, Jakarta Even though they lose in terms of top speed to MotoGP motorbikes, F1 cars can go faster around a Grand Prix circuit. You can compare the differences in top speed and lap time between MotoGP motorbikes and F1 cars on several tracks that are both used for racing in these two events. The first example is at Silverstone, where MotoGP motorbikes reach more than 330 km/h while F1 cars reach 320 km/h. The lap time is quite far because MotoGP is almost two minutes, while the F1 car goes 20 seconds faster around the track.
Another comparison can be seen at the Mugello Circuit, Italy, which has a long straight before the San Donato corner. Ducati motorbikes in MotoGP can be driven to more than 360 km/h, while the F1 cars that raced there in 2020 were only around 320-330 km/h. Uniquely, the lap time for an F1 car is only 1 minute 15 seconds, while MotoGP reaches 1 minute 30 seconds. This difference is caused by the character of each vehicle and its trajectory. MotoGP can reach high top speeds, but cannot negotiate corners as fast as F1 cars.
F1 cars with strong downforce thanks to aerodynamic components can beat corners quickly. For example, at a speed of 300 km/h on a straight track, an F1 car could go through a corner at a speed of 240 km/h with very large G-Force consequences. Meanwhile, when a MotoGP motorbike is at a speed of 300 km/h, they have to reduce it to 100 km/hour or slower to beat a corner. Lewis Hamilton doesn't need to press the brakes as deeply as Marc Marquez when entering a corner. With aerodynamic components not as good as F1 cars, MotoGP racers have to brake deeply and tilt their bodies to fight centrifugal force in corners.
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